Black Thursday?

Consumerism run amok

Thank goodness for the remnants of Massachusetts' blue laws, which may have been the only thing standing between corporate greed and the Thanksgiving dinners of thousands of commonwealth residents. Although often derided as arcane, these rules, as enforced by the state attorney general's office, helped prevent stores from opening on Thanksgiving evening.

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capecodtimes.com

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Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Posted Nov. 28, 2012 at 2:00 AM

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Thank goodness for the remnants of Massachusetts' blue laws, which may have been the only thing standing between corporate greed and the Thanksgiving dinners of thousands of commonwealth residents. Although often derided as arcane, these rules, as enforced by the state attorney general's office, helped prevent stores from opening on Thanksgiving evening.

Some may argue that this deprived area shoppers of the bargain-busting deals available in other parts of the country. However, when people are willing to let crass commercialism take precedence over a traditional family gathering, what does that say about who we have become as a society?

There is no question that the holiday season is a time when many of us put common sense in a bag marked "Scrooge" and tuck it away for a month or so. We try to treat those we care most about in a manner that we would like to treat them all year long. For many, this means seeking out gifts that reflect the fact that we understand and appreciate them.

At the same time, most of us are trying to accomplish this with roughly the same income that we have for the other 11 months of the year. Unfortunately, most of us also have many of the same expenses as well. Therefore, the desire to seek out the best possible deals is more than merely understandable; for many of us, it is a matter of whether or not we can successfully work our way through our gift-giving list.

Retailers understand the purchasing frenzy that occurs between Thanksgiving and the end of December, and have done everything in their collective power to build upon it. There is a reason why jack-o-lanterns and bags of snack-sized candy often share shelf space with tinsel and elves; retailers know that the earlier we start feeling the holiday pressure, the sooner we will start emptying our wallets.

The subtle and not-so-subtle build up usually culminates the day after Thanksgiving, when legions of bargain hunters, many with the previous day's sales circulars clutched tightly in their hands, begin the sometimes rabid search for the perfect gifts. A diminished form of that frenzy often continues for the next four weeks, but there is no question that the Friday after Thanksgiving holds a special place in the hearts of corporate America and consumers alike.

Eager to accommodate the frenzy that they themselves created, retailers have pushed toward earlier and earlier openings. This year, some stores in other parts of the country were actually open on Thanksgiving, prompting some to prematurely drop their forks, bid their families farewell, and line up in near-freezing temperatures. Obviously, that is their choice.

Thousands of retail employees, however, did not have that same choice. In some cases, this meant going to work at a time when most of us were still debating whether it was time to put the bird in the oven.

There are those who will say that anyone with a job in the current economy should be glad to be employed, and that there are many who would have happily forsaken a day with their families for the opportunity to put food on the table.

But in Massachusetts, for one day at least, one does not need to choose between providing for a family and being with that family, and that is something to be thankful about.